I Screwed the Novel's Plot
Chapter 83 Ch. 83: The Escape [1]

She strode toward the door and before she left, Annelise sent me a goodbye kiss. I had never been relieved that a flying kiss was invisible else, I would surely dodge it.

"Your Highness, please, don't marry that hussy!"

Wrinkles manifested on my forehead. I glanced at Leticia and she looked at me with pleading eyes.

Why would I want to marry Annelise anyway? She was the Empire's enemy, also, she wasn't my type.

Leticia continued.

"I-If Your Highness wants to get married, please marry me instead! I want to marry Your Highness too!"

I couldn't help but massage my temples when pain swirled inside my head.

'What the hell is this? Have I just been proposed to by two different people on the same day?'

Crazy.

Just thinking about how to escape from here already gave me a headache and suddenly an unexpected variable appeared.

Annelise came and spewed that she had not given up on igniting a war between the two countries.

With that being said, whether I like it or not, I had to rack my head once again to think about what that crazy woman was planning.

I had to stop the war from unfolding for a second time! And as if those matters didn't hurt my brain cells, I too had to deal with nonsense called love.

Please, my plate was full!

But still, the bet was quite tempting in my opinion, although I didn't know if the reward thing was a lie or truth.

"Haa…"

I let out many deep breaths to alleviate my turmoil. I felt terrible for this six-year-old body, I just hoped my brain didn't explode due to overload.

Soon, the guards returned and sat back in their chairs. Now that I saw them, I immediately asked Leticia.

"Do you remember the task I gave you?"

"Task? Oh, yes! It's 197!"

She dropped her head and spoke in a low tone; she felt guilty.

"B-but, I'm so sorry, I fell asleep…"

I extended my hand and patted her head.

"It's okay."

At least, she did the job.

"Listen, Lady Leticia, once the guards leave the room, run towards the cage door and start counting. Do you understand?"

She lifted her head and answered confidently.

"Yes!"

"Good."

I smiled at her and she blushed. Well, I admire her spirit.

'And yes, I'm planning on my escape today.'

.

.

.

We waited for hours and eventually, our patient bore fruit. The guards rose from their seats and walked toward the entrance.

As soon as their silhouettes vanished, wasting no more time we rushed to the door cage and I shouted.

"Now!"

"One… two… three–"

According to the data I collected, the shift change was about three minutes apart, and at that time I had to open the door.

I immediately took out a spoon and bent the handle, then I inserted it into the padlock's keyhole.

Modern and medieval padlocks were different, especially compared in size. Just like this one, I should at least open it without difficulty.

"What is the Prince doing?"

"You can't open it, it's useless."

I heard unfamiliar sounds, they seemed to be coming from the cage next to me; they were watching my action. Ignoring them, I went on with my business.

"90… 91… 92…"

My heart skipped a beat as I heard Leticia's count continue to grow. Well, it was not as easy as I previously thought.

"148… 149… 150…"

Sweat started to form on my body and the moment I was about to give up…

–Clank!

"Ah, it opened!"

Leticia's voice woke me up from my amazement. I grabbed her hand and got out of the cage. We ran towards the door. However–

"Wait!! Please save me!!"

"Save me please!!"

"Don't leave us!!"

I stopped in front of the entrance when my ears caught approaching footsteps.

"Follow me."

I led Leticia to hide behind the door and the roar of the children filled the surrounding.

The door burst open and two guards entered the room. They immediately yelled after hearing the commotion.

"What the hell?"

"SHUT UP YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!"

As their backs faced me, I darted my eyes to look for a weapon. Luckily I found a piece of lumber and grabbed it.

I glanced at Leticia and beckoned to her to remain silent, then she nodded in understanding.

I tiptoed over one of the guards and swung the lumber to his nape.

"Argh!"

He groaned and fell on the floor. The other turned his head but it was too late as the log was now in front of his face.

–Thud!

He slumped to the ground beside his partner.

"Yaay!!"

"Yeah! That's the Prince for you!"

The kid's cheered and some were clapping. I motioned for them to be quiet and I was just glad that they were listening to me.

Because otherwise, their voices would attract other members to come here.

I dropped the wood and approached the unconscious men. I held one of their heads with both hands then twisted it.

–Crack!

Exclamations sounded but no one dared to say a word. I switched to another and did the same action.

–Crack!

I killed two men without batting an eye and stared at the corpses coldly. Somehow, this time, it felt different…

My body didn't tremble and I didn't even have feelings of guilt or anything related to it.

But did you know what was crazier? It was my head screaming that they deserve it; they deserve to die and I granted it.

Was I… started to get used to it just like Alexander said to me back then?

Well, it seemed like that.

The next was, I rummaged through their bodies looking for something useful.

I found 2 swords and 2 daggers, unfortunately, no potions, but it didn't matter, at least I had something to use to defend myself.

And so, I took a sword and put one dagger in my pocket. Since a sword was too heavy for Leticia, I offered her a dagger, but she refused whilst waving her hands left and right.

"I–I never use a weapon before."

I couldn't always protect her, there must be a time when she had to defend herself.

Not to mention that we were in the enemy territory where danger lurked; waiting to strike us the moment we let our guard down.

And so, I said.

"I hate useless girls, so take this to defend yourself."

She wore a complicated expression and reluctantly took the dagger from my hand.

"I–I understand."

I wanted to laugh but restrained myself from doing so. What I meant was, she was so innocent, was it because she loved me that she just blindly believed me?

Love was surely something scary. However, her next words almost made me choke on blood.

"When I return home I will learn martial arts!"

I didn't think that was a wise choice for a Lady to learn something like that, especially a noblewoman. But whatever, if she wanted to become one, so be it.

'That's none of my business. It's her dream.'

Afterward, I moved to the table, but… my heart started to race when I held the keys. I could see how my hand trembled as my eyes fell on the keys in my palm.

There were so many things going on in my head. I took a deep breath and after thinking about what would be best, I immediately put down the keys on the table.

Although it was hard for me to open my mouth, I eventually said it.

"Please, forgive me."

Originally, I wanted to secure my safety by using them as 'bait', so the enemy could only focus on these kids. But somehow, it hurt my conscience as a human being.

Because, if I did that, what was the difference between me and this shady organization? Using children as tools, I just… couldn't…

I couldn't sacrifice my people for my selfish survival!

Nevertheless, those who knew nothing about this cruel world shouted at me angrily; judging me that I was a heartless person.

"Your Highness! You can't do this to us!!"

"Please let me escape with you!!"

"Don't leave us here!!"

And so I responded.

"Please wait here, when I get out of here, I will send reinforcements to save all of you. I promise."

Their voices went wild but I ignored them and hastily took Leticia's hand then dashed to the door.

"Your Highness? Are you alright?"

Leticia's soft voice entered my ears. I glanced at her and smiled. I was glad that she didn't ask me why I left them there.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."

"Yes."

With that, we exited the room and climbed the stairs. A few minutes passed and as soon as we were a few more steps up the stairs, I tugged my head out to look at the situation.

Luckily, no one was around and we ran but instantly made a turn to the left when footsteps were heard. But, something unexpected happened.

–Drrrttt!

The ground shook violently.

"W-what is happening?"

Leticia sounded panicked.

"I don't–"

"Kyaaa!!"

The floor beneath us cracked and we fell below.